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Industry News Daily — Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tuesday, 21 February 2012 11:17Written by TrueCar

TrueCar.com’s daily industry news summary for Tuesday, February 12, 2012, shares the most important news from across the automotive industry.

Industry

.
Bloomberg/Detroit News

· RBC estimates European restructuring expenses of $600 million this year and $400 million in 2013
· Opel had a $747 million loss before interest and taxes last year after losing $1.95 billion in 2010
· Losses since 1999 have totaled $15.6 billion in the region
· Barclays Capital analyst, Brian Johnson said that a “restructuring of the unit would provide a tailwind for the stock”

Today Show/MSNBC

· According to WomenCertified – 51% of the cars purchased in the US are by women and 96% of purchases are influenced by women
· Study was done in cooperation with the Wharton Business School and was designed to focus on what women look for when purchasing a car through a dealer
· Best dealers were those that showed “a genuine concern for the customer”
· Dealers who ranked high tended to have niceties such as places to relax while waiting for your car
· The practice pays off – 80% of respondents returned to their favorite dealerships
· Full dealer list

Automotive News

· Complaint targets the HyundaiSonata Hybrid and the Kia Optima Hybrid
· The patent litigation ended with a settlement in 2010 after an eight year long battle
· Paice, a company that was embroiled in the battle, is looking for cash compensation and an order that would require permission in order to use the technology

WSJ

· A national advertising commercial, humorous digital short videos, and a series of homepage takeovers and a contest in which the winner gets a new 2012 3 Series
· Contest is called, “Zero to Desir3 in 5.9 seconds” – car maker asks participants to submit a video that runs for roughly 5.9 seconds as to why they want a new car
· Submissions can be made through March 9 at facebook.com/bmwusa and youtube.com/bmwusa
· Panel will select 30 finalists and then the public will vote

USA Today

· Hyundai has pulled ahead of Toyota and Honda
· Hyundai’s Sonata midsize sedan has been closing on Honda’s Accord and Toyota’s Camry in the past decade
· US buyers paid 33% more for a Sonata last year than in 2002
· The Azera full-size sedan will be priced at $32,875 to start, up about $6,000 from its predecessor

USA Today

· At $3.53 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1
· Surge in gas prices follows an increase in the price of oil
· A 25-cent jump in gasoline prices, if sustained over a year, would cost the economy about $35 billion

Automotive News

· The company that worked on Siri’s voice technology, is working with Ford and GM to create software that uses natural language for commands
· The Cadillac CUE infotainment system uses natural language
· Cars still have to be designed for people who don’t have smartphones or data plans
· Infotainment technology in vehicles is still a work in progress

Detroit Free Press

· Ford will start selling the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ later this year
· Last year, Ford Fusion sales nearly tripled those of Lincoln’s entire lineup
· Lincoln has a chance to get it right now and differentiate itself.

Automotive News

· Drivers are holding on to their vehicles for nearly six years
· Growing reliability of new cars as well as consumers holding off on purchases due to the economy are all reasons that Americans are holding on to their cars for longer
· Used car owners held on to their purchases for an average of 49.9 months, a record
· Polk has found that brand loyalty diminishes the longer they hold on to their car

Vehicles

.
NY Times

· Chrysler is recalling 9,700 of its 2011-12 Dodge Charger police cruisers, because the antilock brakes and electronic stability control may fail
· The low-beam headlights may also burn out
· The issue was discovered last August when two headlights were returned to the automaker under the warranty

Automotive News

· New commercial is in conjunction with the upcoming Dr. Seuss animated film The Lorax· The spot is an early launch of both the CX-5 compact crossover and the brand’s Skyactiv vehicle technologies
· Mazda has boosted its advertising budget by 25% this year
· Mazda’s CMO has said that combining the environmental message of The Lorax adaptation was a “natural fit”

WSJ

· The recall will fix a possible flaw in their side-curtain airbag systems
· The NHTSA thinks that the airbags may have an improper propellant in their inflator systems – which may not produce enough compressed gas to properly inflate
· 248 Versas and 728 Altimas

WSJ

· The concept is a panel-van version with opaque panels replacing the Clubman’s rear side windows
· It has two seats and an expanded load-carrying area – it’s aimed at fashion designers, catering services, photographers, and small businessesr-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px;" title="Icons-Calendar-2012-feb-21" src="http://tcblog.truecar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Icons-Calendar-2012-feb-211.png" alt="" width="96" height="97" />TrueCar in the News

Industry

.
Bloomberg/Detroit News

· RBC estimates European restructuring expenses of $600 million this year and $400 million in 2013
· Opel had a $747 million loss before interest and taxes last year after losing $1.95 billion in 2010
· Losses since 1999 have totaled $15.6 billion in the region
· Barclays Capital analyst, Brian Johnson said that a “restructuring of the unit would provide a tailwind for the stock”

Today Show/MSNBC

· According to WomenCertified – 51% of the cars purchased in the US are by women and 96% of purchases are influenced by women
· Study was done in cooperation with the Wharton Business School and was designed to focus on what women look for when purchasing a car through a dealer
· Best dealers were those that showed “a genuine concern for the customer”
· Dealers who ranked high tended to have niceties such as places to relax while waiting for your car
· The practice pays off – 80% of respondents returned to their favorite dealerships
· Full dealer list

Automotive News

· Complaint targets the HyundaiSonata Hybrid and the Kia Optima Hybrid
· The patent litigation ended with a settlement in 2010 after an eight year long battle
· Paice, a company that was embroiled in the battle, is looking for cash compensation and an order that would require permission in order to use the technology

WSJ

· A national advertising commercial, humorous digital short videos, and a series of homepage takeovers and a contest in which the winner gets a new 2012 3 Series
· Contest is called, “Zero to Desir3 in 5.9 seconds” – car maker asks participants to submit a video that runs for roughly 5.9 seconds as to why they want a new car
· Submissions can be made through March 9 at facebook.com/bmwusa and youtube.com/bmwusa
· Panel will select 30 finalists and then the public will vote

USA Today

· Hyundai has pulled ahead of Toyota and Honda
· Hyundai’s Sonata midsize sedan has been closing on Honda’s Accord and Toyota’s Camry in the past decade
· US buyers paid 33% more for a Sonata last year than in 2002
· The Azera full-size sedan will be priced at $32,875 to start, up about $6,000 from its predecessor

USA Today

· At $3.53 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1
· Surge in gas prices follows an increase in the price of oil
· A 25-cent jump in gasoline prices, if sustained over a year, would cost the economy about $35 billion

Automotive News

· The company that worked on Siri’s voice technology, is working with Ford and GM to create software that uses natural language for commands
· The Cadillac CUE infotainment system uses natural language
· Cars still have to be designed for people who don’t have smartphones or data plans
· Infotainment technology in vehicles is still a work in progress

Detroit Free Press

· Ford will start selling the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ later this year
· Last year, Ford Fusion sales nearly tripled those of Lincoln’s entire lineup
· Lincoln has a chance to get it right now and differentiate itself.

Automotive News

· Drivers are holding on to their vehicles for nearly six years
· Growing reliability of new cars as well as consumers holding off on purchases due to the economy are all reasons that Americans are holding on to their cars for longer
· Used car owners held on to their purchases for an average of 49.9 months, a record
· Polk has found that brand loyalty diminishes the longer they hold on to their car

Vehicles

.
NY Times

· Chrysler is recalling 9,700 of its 2011-12 Dodge Charger police cruisers, because the antilock brakes and electronic stability control may fail
· The low-beam headlights may also burn out
· The issue was discovered last August when two headlights were returned to the automaker under the warranty

Automotive News

· New commercial is in conjunction with the upcoming Dr. Seuss animated film The Lorax· The spot is an early launch of both the CX-5 compact crossover and the brand’s Skyactiv vehicle technologies
· Mazda has boosted its advertising budget by 25% this year
· Mazda’s CMO has said that combining the environmental message of The Lorax adaptation was a “natural fit”

WSJ

· The recall will fix a possible flaw in their side-curtain airbag systems
· The NHTSA thinks that the airbags may have an improper propellant in their inflator systems – which may not produce enough compressed gas to properly inflate
· 248 Versas and 728 Altimas

WSJ

· The concept is a panel-van version with opaque panels replacing the Clubman’s rear side windows
· It has two seats and an expanded load-carrying area – it’s aimed at fashion designers, catering services, photographers, and small businesses